Man charged with second murder after guilty plea

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- An Ohio man charged in two different murders received his second sentence after pleading guilty to a murder in Franklin County.

Avonte Sanford pleaded guilty to murder in Franklin County on Aug. 14. He was then sentenced to 16 to 21 years and six months in prison for shooting and killing Antohn Saunders in east Columbus in December, 2021.

Previously, Sanford was sentenced to 25 years to 30 years and six months for the homicide of James Palmer III in Fairfield County in January, 2022.

Sanford, 21, was indicted by a Fairfield County grand jury on charges of aggravated murder, murder, aggravated robbery and having weapons under disability in connection with the shooting death of Palmer III on Jan. 2 in Pickerington.

Prior to both murders, Sanford was also arrested in connection to an April 2021 shooting in Reynoldsburg where a 16-year-old girl was shot in the leg walking home from a school bus stop.